A fluid flow process (flow process) includes any process that involves the flow of fluid through pipes, ducts, or other conduits, as well as through fluid control devices such as pumps, valves, orifices, heat exchangers, and the like. Flow processes are found in many different industries such as the oil and gas industry, refining, food and beverage industry, chemical and petrochemical industry, pulp and paper industry, power generation, pharmaceutical industry, and water and wastewater treatment industry. The fluid within the flow process may be a single phase fluid (e.g., gas, liquid or liquid/liquid mixture) and/or a multi-phase mixture (e.g. paper and pulp slurries or other solid/liquid mixtures). The multi-phase mixture may be a two-phase liquid/gas mixture, a solid/gas mixture or a solid/liquid mixture, gas entrained liquid or a three-phase mixture.
Various sensing technologies exist for measuring various physical parameters of single and/or multiphase fluids in an industrial flow process. Such physical parameters include, for example, volumetric flow rate, composition, consistency, density, and mass flow rate.
In certain sensing applications, such as in industrial flow processes, it may be desirable to sense different parameters, the same parameter, or different locations, at different times throughout the industrial flow process. For example, it may initially be desirable to sense volumetric flow rate at a single or limited number of locations throughout an industrial flow process when plant first comes on line. Later, it may be desirable to sense volumetric flow rates at different locations in the process on a distributed basis throughout the process. Alternatively, it may be desirable to sense different parameters of interest at a later time, such as composition, density, and mass flow rate.
From a plant operator's standpoint, it is undesirable to pay for information that is not needed. Therefore, the operator may be willing to pay a premium for certain information at different times, and other different information at a later time. However, it may be extremely costly to intervene or install a meter or measuring device at the later time because of lost production or difficulty in installing a meter at the later time, particularly in harsh environments.